Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.
October 15, x785.
As the crowd's enthusiasm began to rise once again after the lack luster ending to the last match, Team Natsu and Team Shadow gear approached the ring. Then, when they were both standing on either side of the ring, Natsu and Gajeel both leapt into the ring simultaneously.
"Well, I saw that coming." Lucy said with a shrug.
"If you said you expected anything else, I would have questioned your intelligence." Gray replied.
"You can talk about someone else's intelligence when you can figure out how to keep your clothes on." Lucy shot back while rolling her eyes.
"Huh? Damn it!" Gray exclaimed in annoyance.
"Quiet, you two." Erza said with her arms crossed. "The match is going to start soon."
Just as Erza said, the introductions were over and Ur had her hand raised, primed to swing it downwards.
"Begin!" Ur said, starting the next match of the round.
Immediately, Natsu, wearing a pair of gauntlets, something unusual for him, dashed forward.
"Hahaha! Get ready to lose, Metal Head." Natsu shouted as flames exploded from his back, acting as a booster. "Now that I have a [Soul Armament], you're never gonna be able to beat me.
"Hmph!" Gajeel snorted while holding a bastard sword, his [Soul Armament], in his right hand. "And you think you're the only one who has one? Seriously, get real. Alfonzo gave one to each of us at the same time, you moron."
"What did you call me?" Natsu asked, expelling even more flames to increase his speed.
However, since neither Natsu nor Gajeel had been able to release the first seal of their [Soul Armaments], this fight went the same way it usually does when the two fight. And in the end, Natsu ended up defeating Gajeel by a narrow margin.
"Winner of the round, Natsu Dragneel of Team Natsu." Ur said once the match came to an end.
"Wow! I remember the first time they fought." Lucy said with surprise lacing her tone. "It was a pretty one-sided fight. But now, they were practically breaking even."
"Well, have you ever seen Gajeel train?" Gray asked with a shrug. "He pushes himself almost as hard as Alfonzo does."
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Lucy replied with a nod.
At the same time, Lucy clenched her fists.
'I need to start training harder, too.' Lucy thought. 'Even though I've picked up the intensity of my training since the Phantom Lord attack, I'm still way behind everyone else.'
["That's only because you haven't been training for nearly as long as the others."] Lucy's [Armament Spirit] said from her inner world. ["But you're making good progress. Just keep doing what you're doing and everything will be alright."]
'Yeah, I know you're right.' Lucy replied internally. 'Thanks for cheering me up. I'm glad you're made from the optimistic part of me.'
["Don't worry about it, Lucy."] The [Armament Spirit] replied, a smile clear in her tone.
"Lucy, why don't we go up for the next match?" Erza asked, putting an end to the conversation between Lucy and her [Armament Spirit].
"Sure." Lucy replied with a nod.
"I guess I won't be getting a turn in this round, huh?" Gray said with a shrug.
"Don't be complacent, Gray." Erza said in a stern tone. "That kind of attitude is why we got eliminated in the first round last year."
"Yeah, yeah, I know." Gray replied.
"Alright, who's next?" Natsu said as he hopped off the ring next to the rest of the team. "We gotta keep the momentum going."
"Lucy and I will be fighting in the next match." Erza said as she started walking forward. "Now, come along, Lucy."
"Yes." Lucy replied, stepping forward with determination.
Just before jumping into the ring, however, Erza looked back over her shoulder.
"And Gray, if your clothes aren't on when the match is over, I'll take charge of your training. And we'll add a routine to make sure you stay clothed from now on."
Hearing that, Gray shuddered. Although Ur's training could be quite brutal, Erza did not know the meaning of restraint… at all. So, he had no doubt that he would end up with more than just sore muscles if Erza trained him.
"Aye!" Gray replied as he stood up straight and saluted.
A moment later, Happy flew over and landed on Gray's shoulder. Then, he patted him on the side of his head compassionately.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the ring, Levy was gone, leaving Jet and Droy alone while she helped Gajeel to the medical station…. Against his will.
"Well, I guess that means we're fighting in the next round." Droy said as he looked across the ring. "And it looks like we'll be fighting Erza and Lucy."
"*Sigh* Why does she pay so much attention to that guy?" Jet grumbled while watching Levy and Gajeel argue as they made their way over to the medical station.
"*Sigh* I don't know, either." Droy replied.
In actuality, Jet and Droy both knew the reason why Levy paid so much attention to Gajeel. However, they refused to admit it to themselves. Their only salvation was the fact that Gajeel did not seem to realize how Levy felt about him.
However, that was a misconception. Gajeel just wasn't one for public displays of affection. And since Jet and Droy followed Levy everywhere when they were not out on quests, Gajeel never showed Levy that he was interested in her, something that Levy was growing weary of. Something that Gajeel was looking forward to seeing explode in Jet and Droy's faces.
"Anyway, let's get going, Jet." Droy said, placing his hand on Jet's shoulder.
"Yeah." Jet replied, shaking his head to get his mind right.
Then, once both pairs of wizards were in the ring, Ur made the introductions before signaling for the fight to begin.
Unfortunately for Jet and Droy, this fight did not last long, with Erza and Lucy determined to not be eliminated in the first round as they were last year.
As soon as the match started, Erza drew Astraia and dashed forward. Meanwhile, Lucy drew Gemini's key from her pouch, summoning the twins and having them transform into her. Then, she had Gemini summon Leo while she equipped Tarus' [Star Dress].
After that, despite trying their best, Jet and Droy just could not put up with the onslaught from four combatants, eventually being knocked out just as Levy returned from the medical station.
"The winners of the match are Erza Scarlet and Lucy Heartfilia from Team Natsu." Ur said, announcing the outcome of the match. "And with a score of two to zero, Team Natsu moves on to the semi-finals."
"*Sigh* I kind of expected this." Levy said while shaking her head. "I mean, Lu has been training really hard lately. On top of that, Jet and Droy are still resisting Alfonz's instruction during training."
With that, Levy continued towards the ring. Then, when she finally reached her unconscious teammates, she shrugged her shoulders.
"Oh well, at least with them unconscious, I'll have some time to talk to Gajee." Levy whispered to herself with a slight blush.
"Thunder God Tribe, Team Strauss, please report to ringside." Ur announced.
Taking that as her cue to relocate her teammates, Levy picked up Jet and Droy before vacating the ring. At the same time, Laxus, Bickslow, Fried, Evergreen, Mirajane, Elfman, Lisanna, and Juvia approached the ring from their seats. Then, once they were all at ringside, Ur asked them to send up their first fighters.
"I'll go, Big Sis." Elfman said in a resolute tone.
"No, I'm going to take the first fight." Mirajane replied with a shake of her head. "Although I hate to admit it, I'm not confident in defeating Laxus. He's too fast. But I don't think he'll be going up in the first round. And I want to hopefully get the victory before the final match of the round."
Understanding Mirajane's plan, Elfman, Lisanna, and Juvia nodded in understanding.
At the same time, just as they had discussed, Evergreen, confident in beating anyone on Team Strauss one-on-one, hopped into the ring with a confident smile on her face.
"See." Mirajane said as she also hopped into the ring.
Seeing Mirajane take the first match, Laxus narrowed his eyes.
'Have we been taking this too lightly?' Laxus thought to himself. 'No, it doesn't matter. Fried and Bickslow's teamwork is great. And I doubt Lisanna and Juvia can take them down. They just don't have the same amount of experience.'
"Begin!" Ur announced, bringing Laxus' internal monologue to an end.
Just like that, Mirajane, wearing her [Soul Armament], a tiara with a purple jewel in its center that gave her the appearance of having a third eye on her forehead, was covered in the light of her [Take Over Magic]. Meanwhile, Evergreen ejected a large amount of her [Fairy Dust] from her body, forming her [Fairy Machine Gun: Leprechaun] and preparing the stage for [Fairy Bomb: Gremlin].
However, before she could launch her attack, Evergreen was forced to evade when a beam of [Darkness Magic pierced towards her. Surprised by the sudden attack, Evergreen, after regaining her footing, looked in its direction. And what she saw was Mirajane in her [Sitri Take Over] with [Darkness Magic] gathering on the jewel on her forehead.
"So, your [Soul Armament] allows you to fire your magic power from that jewel on your forehead." Evergreen muttered.
Instead of responding, however, Mirajane simply fired another beam from her [soul Armament].
["This match would be over already if you were able to unlock my seal."] Mirajane's [Armament Spirit] said from her inner world.
'*Sigh* I know.' Mirajane replied. 'Still, I don't want this match to take too long. So, I'll be going all out from the start.'
In the next instant, while using the flames engulfing her legs as boosters, Mirajane rocketed towards Evergreen, unbothered by the [Fairy Dust] spreading over the ring.
"Not very bright." Evergreen said, flaring her magic power to detonate the [Fairy Dust] surrounding Mirajane.
Unfortunately, before she could trigger the detonation, Mirajane's speed doubled. As a result, she ended up shoulder tackling Evergreen in the abdomen.
"Gah!" evergreen grunted as she coughed up a mouthful of saliva.
*Boom!*
A moment later, Mirajane drove Evergreen into the wall separating the audience from the ring area.
"Wow! I've never seen Big Sis move that fast before." Lisanna said with her eyes open wide in an excited tone.
"Juvia has never seen it either." Juvia added.
"Yeah! Mira won that round like a real man!" Elfman shouted enthusiastically causing Mirajane to shoot a scolding glare in his direction while Lisanna and Juvia shook their heads. A moment later, however, while ignoring his older sister's glare, he wore a concerned expression as he continued. "But I hope Ever is okay…"
Hearing Elfman's follow up, Lisanna smiled sweetly at her brother while Juvia did not seem to care. Mirajane, on the other hand, continued to glare at Elfman for comparing her to a real man… again.
"Winner of the match, Mirajane Strauss." Ur announced, also surprised by Mirajane's boost in speed.
In reality, Mirajane's flames were not the reason for her increased speed. Instead, after talking to Alfonzo about the difference in her physical power and speed, Alfonzo offered to teach her the [shave] technique he was able to recreate in this world. And although Mirajane had yet to master it, able to make ten kicks in the blink of an eye, she could still increase her speed by quite a bit. Add that to the fact that she could fly and was able to displace the air with a kick, her flight speed had increased, as well.
"Teams, send your next fighters to the ring.
Hearing that, Bickslow and Fried both jumped into the ring while Evergreen was taken to the medical station. Meanwhile, Lisanna and Juvia were also preparing to jump into the ring. However, before they could, they were stopped.
"Juvia, I want you to sit this one out." Mirajane said as she hopped off the ring with her annoyance at her brother under control.
Stopping in their tracks, Lisanna and Juvia looked at Mirajane with confusion visible in their eyes. Though, Juvia also had visible annoyance in her eyes, as well.
"Why should Juvia stay back?" Juvia asked, her annoyance nearly tangible at this point.
"Because of Fried and Bickslow's experience as a team." Mirajane said calmly as she transformed back to her base state. "And although you and Lisanna are a great team, you don't have nearly as much experience as they do."
*Smack!*
"So, you want me to take her place, Big Sis?" Elfman asked while punching his right fist into his left palm.
"Exactly." Mirajane replied. "Not only have you two been working together for years, but your bond as siblings should be enough to bridge the gap in experience, too."
While Elfman and Lisanna nodded with determination in their eyes, Juvia bit her lip in frustration. She actually wanted a chance to fight with Fried and Bickslow alongside Lisanna. But she knew that Mirajane's plan was the team's best chance at winning this round, as well.
Eventually, Juvia's expression turned into one filled with understanding.
"Fine, Juvia will leave this match to the two of you." Juvia said in a solemn tone. "But you have to win this. Juvia is under no illusion that she has a chance against Laxus. Not with Juvia's [Water Body]."
Hearing that, Elfman and Mirajane nodded with determination before they both hopped into the ring to face Fried and Bickslow. Meanwhile, Mirajane drew closer to Juvia with a smile on her face.
"Thank you for trusting me, Juvia." Mirajane said in a sincere tone. "I know it's hard to give up your chance to show everyone how far you and Lisanna have come as a team."
In response, Juvia nodded her head in understanding.
"But you know, it's not impossible for you to take on Laxus." Mirajane said with a wry smile. "But you'll have to talk to Alfonzo about that."
Hearing that she would have to talk to Alfonzo caused Juvia to frown in discomfort. Although she had admitted that Alfonzo seemed to make Ultear happy and treated her well, she still didn't like the fact that he stole away one of her perceived soul mates. Still, she was interested to know how she could possibly fight Laxus with her [Water Body].
"What do you mean?" Juvia asked.
Knowing that Juvia was interested, Mirajane explained the little that she knew.
"Well, according to Alfonzo, the only reason water is a conductor of electricity is because of all the impurities in the water. But pure water doesn't conduct electricity. So, if you could make your [Water Body] out of pure water, neither Laxus or Alfonzo's Electromagnetism Magic] would be able to affect you."
Hearing that, Juvia's eyes began to sparkle as she thought of the possibilities.
'If Juvia can make her body out of pure water, Juvia could defeat Alfonzo and show Ultear that Juvia is better for her.' Juvia thought to herself. 'Juvia is willing to work with Alfonzo if it means gaining Ultear's love.'
Knowing exactly what Juvia was thinking based on her changing expression, Mirajane could only shake her head before her attention was drawn to the ring when Ur announced the beginning of the next match.